VRF leaking for EVPN E-LAN

Updated: September 11, 2026

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Introduces VRF leaking capabilities for EVPN E-LAN, describes features of Layer 2 interconnection using VRF leaking, and provides configuration procedures to enable optimal traffic distribution across virtual routing instances.

A virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) instance is a network virtualization technology that

provides logical separation of network resources by creating multiple isolated virtual networks
operates independently with its own routing table, forwarding behavior, and network policies, and
enables communication among devices within the same VRF while isolating them from devices in other VRFs.

Table 1. Feature History Table
Feature Name	Release Information	Feature Description
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 26.3.1	Introduced in this release on: Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: K100])(select variants only) This feature is supported on: 88-LC1-48Y8H-EM 88-LC1-16H16F-EM
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 26.1.1	Introduced in this release on: Centralized Systems (8400 [ASIC: K100])(select variants only) This feature is now supported on Cisco 8404-SYS-D routers.
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 25.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100])(select variants only) This feature is now supported on: 8011-32Y8L2H2FH 8011-12G12X4Y-A 8011-12G12X4Y-D
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 25.1.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8010 [ASIC: A100]) (select variants only) This feature is now supported on the Cisco 8011-4G24Y4H-I routers.
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 24.4.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8700) (select variants only) The VRF leaking functionality is now extended to the Cisco 8712-MOD-M routers.
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 24.3.1	Introduced in this release on: Fixed Systems (8200, 8700); Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100]) (select variants only) The VRF leaking functionality is now extended to: 8212-48FH-M 8711-32FH-M 88-LC1-52Y8H-EM 88-LC1-12TH24FH-E
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 24.2.11	Introduced in this release on: Modular Systems (8800 [LC ASIC: P100]) (select variants only) The VRF leaking functionality is now extended to routers with the 88-LC1-36EH line cards.
VRF Leaking for EVPN Single-Homing	Release 7.11.1	We now allow for seamless intercommunication between different VRF instances in an EVPN domain, thus enabling controlled inter-VRF communication and resource-sharing, which is helpful in multi-tenancy environments, data center deployments, and hybrid cloud scenarios. This feature is supported only on Q200-based line cards.

Features of Layer 2 interconnection using VRF leaking

Layer 2 interconnection using VRF leaking in an EVPN network provides these features:

Enables controlled Layer 2 communication between different VRF instances by selectively sharing routes.
Maintains VRF isolation and segmentation while allowing traffic interconnection through EVPN Route type 2 (MAC+IP) import.
Permits interconnection of VRFs at Layer 2 using gateways or bridges that forward traffic between VRFs.
Allows definition of traffic policies to control flow, including filtering based on EVPN EVI and MAC addresses.
Forwards Layer 2 frames between VRFs while preserving Layer 3 isolation.

Configure VRF leaking for EVPN E-LAN

This procedure enables controlled route leaking between the global routing table and a VRF routing table within an EVPN E-LAN environment. VRF leaking allows selective sharing of routes between VRFs and the global routing table, facilitating communication across different routing domains while maintaining segmentation and policy control. This is essential in multi-tenant or segmented network architectures where certain routes need to be shared securely and efficiently.

Procedure

Configure BGP where the router performs the route leak.

Example:

Router(config)# router bgp 100
Router(config-bgp)# bgp router-id 10.10.10.10
Router(config-bgp)# address-family ipv4 unicast
Router(config-bgp-af)# network 172.16.20.0/24
Router(config-bgp-af)# exit
Router(config-bgp)# address-family vpnv4 unicast
Router(config-bgp-af)# exit
Router(config-bgp)# vrf ORANGE
Router(config-bgp-vrf)# rd 100:100
Router(config-bgp-vrf)# address-family ipv4 unicast
Router(config-bgp-vrf-af)# network 192.168.10.0/24
Router(config-bgp-vrf-af)# commit

Configure the route policies.

These policies help you filter which prefixes are permitted to be leaked. In this example, the route-policy GLOBAL-2-VRF and route-policy VRF-2-GLOBAL are used.

Example:

Router(config)# route-policy GLOBAL-2-VRF
Router(config-rpl)# if destination in (172.16.20.0/24) then
Router(config-rpl-if)# pass
Router(config-rpl-if)# endif
Router(config-rpl)# end-policy
Router(config)# route-policy VRF-2-GLOBAL
Router(config-rpl)# if destination in (192.168.10.0/24 le 32) then
Router(config-rpl-if)# pass
Router(config-rpl-if)# endif
Router(config-rpl)# end-policy

Configure the VRF and apply the route-policy.

Example:


Router(config)# vrf ORANGE
Router(config-vrf)# address-family ipv4 unicast
Router(config-vrf-af)# import from default-vrf route-policy GLOBAL-2-VRF
Router(config-vrf-af)# import route-target
Router(config-vrf-import-rt)# 100:100
Router(config-vrf-import-rt)# exit
Router(config-vrf-af)# export to default-vrf route-policy VRF-2-GLOBAL
Router(config-vrf-af)# export route-target
Router(config-vrf-export-rt)# 100:100
Router(config-vrf-export-rt)# commit

Running configuration of VRF leaking.

Example:


router bgp 100
 bgp router-id 10.10.10.10
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 172.16.20.0/24
 !
 address-family vpnv4 unicast
 !
 vrf ORANGE
  rd 100:100
  address-family ipv4 unicast
   network 192.168.10.0/24
  !
 !
!
route-policy GLOBAL-2-VRF
  if destination in (172.16.20.0/24) then
    pass
  endif
end-policy
!
route-policy VRF-2-GLOBAL
  if destination in (192.168.10.0/24 le 32) then
    pass
  endif
end-policy
!
vrf ORANGE
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  import from default-vrf route-policy GLOBAL-2-VRF
  import route-target
   100:100
  !
  export to default-vrf route-policy VRF-2-GLOBAL
  export route-target
   100:100
  !
 !
!

Use the show route command to verify the prefixes appear in the RIB and BGP tables.

Example:

Router# show route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, B - BGP, (>) - Diversion path
       D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
       N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
       E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
       i - ISIS, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2
       ia - IS-IS inter area, su - IS-IS summary null, * - candidate default
       U - per-user static route, o - ODR, L - local, G  - DAGR, l - LISP
       A - access/subscriber, a - Application route
       M - mobile route, r - RPL, t - Traffic Engineering, (!) - FRR Backup path

Gateway of last resort is not set

C    10.88.174.0/24 is directly connected, 1d20h, MgmtEth0/RSP0/CPU0/0
L    10.88.174.223/32 is directly connected, 1d20h, MgmtEth0/RSP0/CPU0/0
L    10.10.10.10/32 is directly connected, 04:33:44, Loopback100
C    172.16.20.0/24 is directly connected, 07:03:18, HundredGigE0/0/0/24
L    172.16.20.1/32 is directly connected, 07:03:18, HundredGigE0/0/0/24
B    192.168.10.0/24 is directly connected, 03:02:21, HundredGigE0/0/0/0 (nexthop in vrf ORANGE)

Router# show ip bgp
BGP router identifier 10.10.10.10, local AS number 100
BGP generic scan interval 60 secs
Non-stop routing is enabled
BGP table state: Active
Table ID: 0xe0000000   RD version: 5
BGP main routing table version 5
BGP NSR Initial initsync version 3 (Reached)
BGP NSR/ISSU Sync-Group versions 0/0
BGP scan interval 60 secs

Status codes: s suppressed, d damped, h history, * valid, > best
              i - internal, r RIB-failure, S stale, N Nexthop-discard
Origin codes: i - IGP, e - EGP, ? - incomplete
   Network            Next Hop            Metric LocPrf Weight Path
*> 172.16.20.0/24     0.0.0.0                  0         32768 i
*> 192.168.10.0/24    0.0.0.0                  0         32768 i

Processed 2 prefixes, 2 paths

This show output displays the information for the VRF ORANGE:

Router# show route vrf ORANGE 
Codes: C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, B - BGP, (>) - Diversion path
       D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
       N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
       E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2, E - EGP
       i - ISIS, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2
       ia - IS-IS inter area, su - IS-IS summary null, * - candidate default
       U - per-user static route, o - ODR, L - local, G  - DAGR, l - LISP
       A - access/subscriber, a - Application route
       M - mobile route, r - RPL, t - Traffic Engineering, (!) - FRR Backup path

Gateway of last resort is not set

B    172.16.20.0/24 is directly connected, 01:43:49, HundredGigE0/0/0/24 (nexthop in vrf default)
   C    192.168.10.0/24 is directly connected, 07:06:38, HundredGigE0/0/0/24
   L    192.168.10.2/32 is directly connected, 07:06:38, HundredGigE0/0/0/0


Router# show bgp vrf ORANGE
BGP VRF ORANGE, state: Active
BGP Route Distinguisher: 100:100
VRF ID: 0x60000003
BGP router identifier 10.10.10.10, local AS number 100
Non-stop routing is enabled
BGP table state: Active
Table ID: 0xe0000012   RD version: 9
BGP main routing table version 9
BGP NSR Initial initsync version 4 (Reached)
BGP NSR/ISSU Sync-Group versions 0/0

Status codes: s suppressed, d damped, h history, * valid, > best
              i - internal, r RIB-failure, S stale, N Nexthop-discard
Origin codes: i - IGP, e - EGP, ? - incomplete
   Network            Next Hop            Metric LocPrf Weight Path
Route Distinguisher: 100:100 (default for vrf ORANGE)
*> 172.16.20.0/24     0.0.0.0                  0         32768 i
*> 192.168.10.0/24    0.0.0.0                  0         32768 i

Processed 2 prefixes, 2 paths

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